Trust
by goji1995
Summary: After their great uncle Ford emerges from the portal, everything changes for Dipper and Mabel. However, there is something else bugging Mabel from that day's events, a feeling of guilt. She decides to confide this with Dipper. (This story has not aged well at all, to me at least, but it was my first time writing the characters, and you gotta start somewhere :) Still, enjoy)


Gravity Falls

TRUST

Out of all their days spent in Gravity Falls, this had probably been the craziest, and that really was saying something. Their entire image of Grunkle Stan had been nearly shattered when they found out about his history, and when they saw what Stan had been hiding from them all along beneath the Mystery Shack. An interdimensional portal, leading to some unknown dimension.

In the space of a few minutes that had felt like hours, the portal was activated, Mabel had been forced to choose between her brother and her uncle, and Stan's twin brother, great uncle Ford, an uncle they never even knew existed, as well as the author of the journals, emerged from the portal.

It had been very quickly apparent that the relationship of the two Stans had long ago collapsed when Ford punched Stan instead of hugging him. The two had told Dipper and Mabel everything about their past, about their strong brotherly bond as kids, about how that bond had been shattered as teens, about how Ford had come to Gravity Falls and written the journals, and last but not least, how the two of them were re-united during one final, bitter meeting that ended in the two of them fighting and great uncle Ford falling into the portal. Stan had spent the last thirty years trying to get his brother back, but now that he had, everything was different. Now, at the end of what had been the longest day of their lives, Dipper and Mabel were in their room, Mabel sitting on the end of her bed whilst Dipper paced back and forth across the room looking foul tempered.

"Ugh, I can't believe Grunkle Stan", he said, "I finally meet the author, and he won't even let me speak to him".

"Mm", said Mabel, not entirely paying attention. Something was bugging her, tugging at her senses. She felt a bizarre mixture of numbness, shock, joy and guilt. An unusual mix of emotions for sure, but after today's events it was no wonder she felt this way. She was shocked at the discovery of a new Grunkle, the author of the journals no less, happy that he was back in his own dimension and reunited with his family at last, numb at the bizarreness of it all, and guilty because of a certain decision she had been forced to make.

"There's no way I'm gonna sleep after everything that's happened today", Dipper went on. "Just knowing that so many answers are only just out of reach, it's infuriating".

"Mm", Mabel said again, lying down and sighing deeply.

Dipper seemed to realise that something wasn't quite right. His pacing came to a stop and he looked with concern at his sister.

"Mabel, is something wrong?" he asked.

"It's just… Dipper… I", she said, her lip trembling slightly.

"Mabel, come on, it's okay, you can tell me", he said, taking a seat next to Mabel on her bed.

She sighed deeply again and sat up. She looked at Dipper's concerned face, then looked away from him.

"It's just… earlier today. When everything got so intense. When I had to choose whether to press that button or not. Dipper, I'm sorry if I hurt you".

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I don't want you to think that I trust Stan more than I trust you. It was horrible, having to choose between you and Grunkle Stan. I just wondered if… since I trusted Stan, you feel like maybe I… broke your trust".

Tears began to stream down her face.

"Mabel…" Dipper said.

"Please don't hate me for it bro-bro. It's not that I don't trust you, I do, I always have and always will. But I had to trust Stan too, so please, just don't hate me for it".

She closed her eyes, but the tears started to come even harder. But then she felt Dipper's hand grab her shoulder. She opened her eyes and looked up to see that Dipper was tearing up a little too.

"Of course you didn't break my trust Mabel. I know you were acting from the heart, and it's pretty hard to be mad at someone for that. I know you too well to think of you like that sis. And hey, you made the right choice, which I wouldn't have done if I were in your place".

Mabel beamed at him, and though she kept on crying, it was from relief and joy.

"It must have been the hardest decision of your life", Dipper continued. "Choosing between two of your family members is never easy, I know that. But you made the right choice Mabel. You're a lot more trusting of people than I am, and a much better judge of character too. That serves you well sis, because if it weren't for you, Grunkle Stan would have lost his brother forever, and we'd never have met him at all. Thanks to you, we've met the author of the journals. And thanks to you, we know that Stan really is our Grunkle, and we know that he was doing the right thing all along. But even if your decision had turned out to be the wrong one, I could never stay mad at you for long. I know you make your decisions from what you believe to be right, and how could I ever be upset at you for that? I know that none of what you did was intended to break my trust, and it didn't. Nothing could ever break my trust in you Mabel, is that clear?"

Mabel grabbed her brother and pulled him into a hug. He gripped her back tightly. For a while she sobbed into his shoulder, she was so overwhelmed with relief and happiness. Finally, her tears began to subside and she started to calm down.

"How are you feeling now?" Dipper said.

"Better", she said, drying her eyes on her nightshirt. She grinned at her brother, and he grinned back at her.

"Good", he said. "Now don't forget what I said. You're my sister, and…"

He looked slightly awkward to say it, but he pressed on regardless,

"sort of my best friend in the world, too".

All the emotional weight Mabel had been feeling had been lifted from her shoulders. She could always count on Dipper to be a good brother. Just then they began to hear the sounds of a conversation from downstairs. They briefly glanced at one another, then ran to press their ears against the door to listen.

"Look at us", they heard Grunkle Stan say. "When did we become old men?"

"You look like dad", Ford said teasingly.

"Ugh, uck, don't say that", Stan said.

They heard the two of them laugh. Mabel's face broke into a smile.

"It sounds like they're finally starting to get along again", she said.

Dipper nodded, also smiling.

"Okay, Stanley, here's the deal", Ford said, his tone changing in an instant. "You can stay here the rest of the summer to watch the kids. I'll stay down in the basement and try to contain any remaining damage. But when the summer's over, you give me my house back, you give me my name back, and this Mystery Shack junk is over forever. You got it?"

Dipper and Mabel's hopeful expression were wiped off their faces.

"Maybe not", Dipper said morosely

"You really aren't gonna thank me, are you?" Stan said. "Fine. On one condition. You stay away from the kids, I don't want them in danger. Cause as far as I'm concerned, they're the only family I have left".

After that, the conversation came to an end, and they heard Grunkle Stan coming up the stairs towards his room. Dipper went to sit on his bed, but Mabel stayed by the door.

"Did you hear what they said? I think Grunkle Ford said they're gonna buy us puppies made of ice cream. Might be wishful thinking though".

"I don't know if this is good or bad", Dipper said. "I wanted to meet the author, but"…

"Yeah" Mabel said as she sat back on her bed. "I liked the way things were here before. Just us, and Stan, and the occasional Goblin monster".

"Eh, I'm sure they'll work things out" Dipper said reassuringly.

But then, as she thought about the two Stans, a new fear entered Mabel's mind.

"Dipper, you don't think we'll end up like Stan and Ford do you?" she said.

"Well, what do you mean?" Dipper said.

Mabel lay down on her bed and took a deep breath.

"I mean they used to be best friends, but then they got all stupid. Can you promise me you won't get stupid?"

"Not stupider than you, dum-dum", Dipper said, laughing.

Mabel laughed.

"Goodnight, stupid", she said.

"Goodnight, stupid", Dipper said, smiling.

He turned off the light and closed his eyes, seemingly drifting into sleep despite saying he wouldn't earlier. It had been a very tiring day, after all. Mabel rolled onto her back and stared worriedly at the ceiling. Despite her best efforts to reassure herself to the contrary, she still had a nagging fear in the back of her mind, one that she had never even considered possible before today's events. Surely what had happened to the Stans couldn't happen to her and Dipper. Could it? Despite this fear, she was very quickly succumbing to the immense tiredness she felt. For now, she tried her best to put the fear aside. She swore to herself and to Dipper that if they ever did fall out the way the Stans had, she would do everything in her power to fix whatever problem they faced, and she knew full and well that Dipper would do the same. Smiling at this thought, she fell into a long and deep sleep.


End file.
